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Red Velvet Cake Roll

It's official. Cake rolls are the easiest, fanciest dessert to make. I mean, just take a look at this red velvet cake roll. Would you believe it took me less than an hour to put together and with very minimal effort?

It's true. Cake rolls are literally just a matter of mixing, pouring, cooling and rolling. Sometimes, you may run into trouble with the rolling part, but as long as you don't overbake your roll, you'll be just fine.

Overbaking causes the cake to be dry, and that's why it will crack when you try to roll it up. This recipe uses buttermilk and vinegar, along with the cake flour, to ensure a tender and moist roll. Of course, you still want to make sure you keep an eye on it in the oven and take it out as soon as it springs back when lightly touched. At that point, you'll immediately invert it and roll it up in a towel. Always roll your cake when it's hot!

Once it cools down completely, you'll unroll it to fill it with this delicious cream cheese frosting. The cake will have held the shape of the roll so it will be easy to roll back up again. After that you'll refrigerate until serving.

I kept mine simple but you could definitely choose to dust with powdered sugar or drizzle with melted chocolate for an extra WOW effect. But as you can see, even simple, this red velvet roll is a stunner.

In another bowl, using an electric hand mixer, beat eggs on medium speed for 2-3 minutes until frothy and pale yellow in color. Add sugar and oil beat until well- combined. Beat in buttermilk, vinegar, red food coloring, and vanilla.

Reduce hand mixer speed to low and slowly beat in dry ingredients until just combined.

Pour batter into prepared pan and spread evenly to the edges. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until cake springs back when lightly touched in the center.

Upon removal from the oven, immediately run a knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the cake. Swiftly invert the cake onto the kitchen towel that has been sprinkled with powdered sugar. Gently peel off the wax paper and discard. Then, starting at the short end, slowly roll up the cake and the towel together. Set aside on a wire rack to cool.

In the meantime, prepare the cream cheese filling. In a medium sized bowl, using an electric hand mixer, beat together cream cheese and butter until smooth and well-combined. Beat in powdered sugar until well incorporated.

Once cake roll is completely cooled, carefully unroll. Evenly spread cream cheese filling over the surface of the roll. Then, roll the cake up again, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour before serving.